al-Ahram's Khaled Amayreh reports on the impending reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah, preparations for which have seen the previously-unlikely release of a number of Hamas supporters from Palestinian jails or the custody of Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority. Most significant in this attempted rapprochement is the likelihood that any joint statement of agreement issued by the two factions will be based on the so-called Prisoners' Statement of 2006, which originally called for a release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and Israel's full retreat from lands occupied in 1967.
Ilan Pappe, now at Exeter, offers to the Inter-Press service some general thoughts on the current state of Israeli-Palestinian affairs, the 2008 election in the US, and the prospective role of Islam in the daily lives of Palestinians.
Patrick Cockburn fills in some details of a new Iraqi-American security agreement. George Bush wants it signed by 31 July; Moqtada al-Sadr sees in it a ploy to put "an American in every house."
As reported earlier this week, John McCain and Barack Obama find themselves both supporting the FISA amendment, which would not only legalize the Bush administrations warrantless wiretaps but would obscure entirely the breadth and scope of the program since it was instituted after 11 September. This constitutes a stark reversal of position for both men. Michael Ratner, the president of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, speaks to The Real News's Zaa Nkweta.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
'The presumptive Democratic candidate for President, Barack Obama'
More than the disingenuousness of his previous foreign policy statements, Barack Obama's speech at this year's AIPAC conference the day after securing the Democratic nomination for President highlights the inevitable rightward shift that his campaign, at least in tone, will continue to make as November approaches. Below, in two parts, Aijaz Ahmad unpacks Obama's statements to the Israel lobby.
No one ought to be surprised by Obama's unequivocal stance; as even Jon Stewart points out, "you can't say anything remotely critical of Israel and still be elected president." Of particular interest for us is the reaction of the Palestinian leadership to Obama's speech, notably that of Fatah negotiator Saeb Erekat. Erekat has the audacity to say that Obama's speech was "the worst thing to happen to Palestinians" since the Six Day War, thus completely obscuring his own Fatah party's comprador role in the years since Oslo, not to the deepening political and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Moreoever, as Aijaz notes, Gaza is likely to be conveniently forgotten when the borders of the putative "cohesive and contiguous" Palestinian state are drawn.
In the second video below, Aijaz further analyzes Obama's language at the AIPAC conference, which includes the suggestion that Iran, not Iraq, would have been the 'right war,' and a call for greater unilateral action, 'outside of the United Nations,' on the part of the United States. As Aijaz tells us, 'with liberalism like this, no one needs the neo-cons.' Videos are below.
AS the transformation of Barack Obama nears its completion, Uri Avnery finds that last week's AIPAC spectacle confirms in full even the most "extreme" conclusions drawn by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in their seminal The Israel Lobby, published late last year--a book that Obama had already denounced for its critique of the increasingly "special" relationship between the State of Israel and the US.
Part I
Part II
No one ought to be surprised by Obama's unequivocal stance; as even Jon Stewart points out, "you can't say anything remotely critical of Israel and still be elected president." Of particular interest for us is the reaction of the Palestinian leadership to Obama's speech, notably that of Fatah negotiator Saeb Erekat. Erekat has the audacity to say that Obama's speech was "the worst thing to happen to Palestinians" since the Six Day War, thus completely obscuring his own Fatah party's comprador role in the years since Oslo, not to the deepening political and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Moreoever, as Aijaz notes, Gaza is likely to be conveniently forgotten when the borders of the putative "cohesive and contiguous" Palestinian state are drawn.
In the second video below, Aijaz further analyzes Obama's language at the AIPAC conference, which includes the suggestion that Iran, not Iraq, would have been the 'right war,' and a call for greater unilateral action, 'outside of the United Nations,' on the part of the United States. As Aijaz tells us, 'with liberalism like this, no one needs the neo-cons.' Videos are below.
AS the transformation of Barack Obama nears its completion, Uri Avnery finds that last week's AIPAC spectacle confirms in full even the most "extreme" conclusions drawn by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in their seminal The Israel Lobby, published late last year--a book that Obama had already denounced for its critique of the increasingly "special" relationship between the State of Israel and the US.
Part I
Part II
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Return of the Rat
The weather's getting warmer and it's made us inattentive! At least that's the official excuse we'll give.
Gilbert Achcar has voiced his recent thoughts on the longer history/effectiveness of the 'surge' in US troops in Iraq over the last eighteen months. Achcar not only locates a great deal of support for the surge in the Baker-Hamilton report, but finds that the US's greatest success has not been a reduction in violence, but a classic colonial power play that has torn the fabric of Iraqi Sunni society.
Franklin Lamb offers a street-level report from West Beirut, currently under Hezbollah and Amal control. What the next move might be for Lebanon's deeply besieged government is unclear; what is clear is the necessity of Hezbollah's involvement in any dialogue meant to bring an end to the crisis of leadership in Lebanon.
Over at Supervalent Thought, her very own 'research blog,' the University of Chicago's Lauren Berlant is putting up some really interesting short pieces on love, queerness, detachment, and (in)fidelity to the political in America. A recent two-parter--"Other People's Optimism" and "Looking For Mr. (W)Right)--laments the unbridled cynicism and fear of the political as evidenced by the 'noise' surrounding the 2008 Elections.
Gilbert Achcar has voiced his recent thoughts on the longer history/effectiveness of the 'surge' in US troops in Iraq over the last eighteen months. Achcar not only locates a great deal of support for the surge in the Baker-Hamilton report, but finds that the US's greatest success has not been a reduction in violence, but a classic colonial power play that has torn the fabric of Iraqi Sunni society.
Franklin Lamb offers a street-level report from West Beirut, currently under Hezbollah and Amal control. What the next move might be for Lebanon's deeply besieged government is unclear; what is clear is the necessity of Hezbollah's involvement in any dialogue meant to bring an end to the crisis of leadership in Lebanon.
Over at Supervalent Thought, her very own 'research blog,' the University of Chicago's Lauren Berlant is putting up some really interesting short pieces on love, queerness, detachment, and (in)fidelity to the political in America. A recent two-parter--"Other People's Optimism" and "Looking For Mr. (W)Right)--laments the unbridled cynicism and fear of the political as evidenced by the 'noise' surrounding the 2008 Elections.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Close to home
Counterpunch's lead article today concerns protests in Queens after Friday's verdict in the Sean Bell killing reached New Yorkers. Interspersed with chants from Friday's march, JoAnn Wypijewski's piece touches on the horror of the incident and other racially-motivated killings by police officers, noting that no matter who is running for president in this country, racism and the oppression like this is as prevalent and dangerous as ever.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Carter in Israel/Palestine
A brief post about recent happenings in Israel/Palestine. Carter's trip to Palestine continues to make headlines as Israel's ambassador to the UN calls Carter a "bigot" for meeting with Khaled Meshal in Syria. Also an editorial from Haaretz from two weeks ago on Israel's "debt" to Carter.
And finally, just to keep things in perspective, is an article by Khaled Amayreh for Al-Ahram detailing once again the continued suffering on the part of Palestinians in the West Bank under blockade, just in time for Israel's dismissal of Hamas's proposed 6-month truce in Gaza. Israel's reasoning? A truce, the Israeli government claims, would do "nothing more" than allow Hamas to recover from recent Israeli attacks.
And finally, just to keep things in perspective, is an article by Khaled Amayreh for Al-Ahram detailing once again the continued suffering on the part of Palestinians in the West Bank under blockade, just in time for Israel's dismissal of Hamas's proposed 6-month truce in Gaza. Israel's reasoning? A truce, the Israeli government claims, would do "nothing more" than allow Hamas to recover from recent Israeli attacks.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Well-Made World 35
As you may have noticed, we've decided to embed daily video updates from the Real News Network. The RNN has an intrinsic value as a serious non-corporate journalism service, their editorializing is top-notch, and they generate a ceaseless amount of new multimedia content. (They'd insert their pitch for monetary contributions here). We go to their video updates with such frequency that we thought to just cut out the middle man. The video updates are always good. Watch them!
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As you can see, to the right, Jimmy Carter is in the Middle East and scheduled to meet with Hamas's Khaled Meshal. Ignoring displeased voices in Washington and Tel Aviv, Carter aims to facilitate negotiation between the Hamas leadership and both Israel and Fatah.
This concludes Azmi Bishara's three-part analysis of the present conjuncture of Israeli statehood and the Palestinian right to self-determination.
Uri Avnery sees no small amount of hypocrisy in recent flame-centric conflagrations over Tibet--no matter how justified Tibetan grievances are--and this year's Olympics in Beijing. Once you get past his assertion that the CIA is without a doubt coordinating anti-torch protests, Avnery points out how appeals to freedom in Tibet shows up the highly selective nature of Western governments' support for national liberation struggles.
Ryan Crocker and the New York Times continue to fuel the Bush administration's eagerness to go to war with Iran.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Well-Made World 34
In the first two (ONE TWO)of a three-part editorial installment on the historical trajectory of the project of Palestinian national liberation, Azmi Bishara cites a 'contrived complexity' that has been built up around the Palestinian cause that not only decisively limits public discourse on the topic but serves Israeli interests perfectly. Lamenting the fact that the so-called Palestinian question has lost its pan-Arab quality, Bishara aims to take account of the historical forces that have allowed Israel to pursue what was as of late an unpredicted course; not that of the one- or two-state solution, but of Israel as 'crusader state'.
Paul Craig Roberts finds something ominous in Dick Cheney's recent schedule, as it suggests a strong possibility of an attack on Iran. The culprits responsible for enabling such an attack, says Roberts, would primarily be the American media, the electorate in the US, and the Democratic Party.
Paul Craig Roberts finds something ominous in Dick Cheney's recent schedule, as it suggests a strong possibility of an attack on Iran. The culprits responsible for enabling such an attack, says Roberts, would primarily be the American media, the electorate in the US, and the Democratic Party.
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